“…aspire to live quietly, and mind your own affairs, and work with your hands, as we instructed you.” (1 Thess. 4:11)
Paul was writing to the Thessalonians to encourage them to live quietly and work hard, partly to avoid meddling and to set a good example for nonbelievers. I have been in the oven on this one for awhile. You know that refining fire kind of oven, removing the dross, working on becoming pure. In the process of it all, I have learned to be quiet and listen very carefully to the Holy Spirit regarding many things. One of those things was to quit allowing myself to be in the midst of another person’s affairs. Sometimes that can be hard if you find yourself there because some else put you there, thergo; free will comes into play. You have the option how you will react or respond to any given situation, in this particular case I chose silence. The old rule of thumb, silence is golden. Like pure gold once refined. Dross-free that is what I want to be. Silence is not the only thing I have taken away from the intense heat of the fire. I realize that it is my responsibility to search my own heart. I have been delving deep into my innermost being, allowing God to bring out the impure thoughts, feelings, things that do not edify or glorify Him, or others for that matter, but mainly Him. Rummaging through my heart and mind, investigating my thoughts and reasonings. Asking the Lord to reveal anything and everything so that I may be able to learn better habits in order to set better examples. It is going to take a whole LOT of “God’s gravy.” I’m the biscuit and God is the gravy. What I have found by doing this, God will pour extra blessings, joy and spiritual nourishment on me, the “GOOD STUFF.” This is called divine grace. It is an abundance of “God’s Great lake of Gravy,” salvation and love that covers all, “total gift” freely poured out. Most days it is little reminders of God’s love for me, extra little things to be joyous about. Just going along minding my biscuits, I mean business, while He pours the gravy, I mean grace, and love over me. Are you in need of some gravy for your biscuits? Go on and get’cha some, a BIG heaping helping, it’s free for the asking.
Life is so unpredictable. We are aware that there are different seasons yet in the changing of seasons we are unable to predict what it will be like. Will the Spring bring lots of rain or will it be dry? Will Summer be a scorching hot one early on until it meets fall? When Fall arrives will the trees have had enough water for the leaves to turn all the beautiful colors we have been waiting to admire? Will the Winter bring ice storms? snowstorms? how much? How long? Seasons come and go nothing stays the same, except God. He is unchanging, and His faithfulness remains. These pictures of me on my 4-wheeler represent a season I am in now, for how long? I do not know. I’ve been here for a couple years, but it could all change tomorrow. Right now I am happy, content and at peace whenever I am in my element which is riding off into God’s creation wherever that may lead me. Yet I am also aware of the fact this is not something I will be doing forever. My life will change again, like many times before. I once was child and did child-like things, I was a teenager, thank God I survived that season. A young wife and mother a whole new kind of season, one that was no longer just about me. Then came the season of being a grandmother, oh the joys that have come with this season have been like heaven on earth. Now I have reached yet another season in my life, one where my husband and I are pretty much alone except an occasional visit from one of our children or grandchildren when they have time because their seasons have changed to. When this season is over will I have another season? If so, what will it look like? The answer is I don’t know, life is unpredictable, I can only live for today. There is something that I am certain of though; a particular time. I wouldn’t call this time a season because it lasts forever. Scripture says, (2 Cor. 5:8) “absent from the body …present with the Lord”) and (Luke 23:43) Jesus’ promise to the thief, indicates that believers go to be with Christ in heaven immediately after death. I know I am going to be with God for all eternity when my seasons here on earth are finished. How do I know that? By faith. Faith in the Word of God. Faith in a Risen Savior, the kind of faith (1 John 5:13-21) speaks of; to KNOW. Know occurs seven times in these verses, indicating John’s focus on the assurance and even certainty of Christian faith and salvation. These things were written to those who believe in the name of the Son of God. Romans 10:9-10 says, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Verse 17; So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Saving faith is a deep inward trust in Christ at the core of your being. I can predict my future after my last season, because I believe. Can You?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Believers are NOT to be anxious, instead we are to entrust ourselves and concerns into the hands of our loving heavenly Father. He is the God of peace and it is His peace that guards us in Christ Jesus. Because God is sovereign and in control we Christians can trust Him with ALL of our difficulties. He rules over ALL creation and He is wise and loving in all of His ways. So that we can have an inward peace, along with a heart of thanksgiving.
I spent a lot of my early years as a Christian, worrying and fretting over darn near everything. I’d close my eyes and pray, sometimes with tears running down my face and then open my eyes and my mouth and cancel out everything I just turned over to him in prayer. I was taking it all back with my words of worry. I felt defeated. I felt as though I just wasted His time and mine. Have you ever been there? I wanted so bad to believe but for some reason the struggle was real. I believe I found the answer to the struggle. God tells us in scripture, “if any lacks wisdom, let him ask and He will give liberally”, so I did. I asked, “why can’t I believe for what I am asking for?” The answer was pretty simple. I had created a habit of worrying, and complaining about things, people, the past, etc. I needed to create a new habit. So everytime anxiety or worry would return, I would pray again. Consistency started paying off. Little by little I began leaving things there with God in prayer, I quit taking them back, and if I spoke anything of that thing it was the Word of God over it. I was now creating a new habit, one that clearly was to my benefit. If you can worry, you can pray. It’s a process of trading one for the other. Anxiety for Peace, the kind that surpasses all understanding. We are told to meditate on things that are pure and lovely and of good report. Worrying is meditating on the wrong things. I started giving my worries to God when I finally realized I couldn’t do anything about them, but He could. All I was told to do was what I could and what I couldn’t He would. Worry paralyzes, prayer activates faith. Faith and fear do not co-exist. Bottom line; why pray if your going to worry and fret?
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
When you see a smile like that on my face, you know I’m living my best life right here, right now, in the moment. Jesus’ promise of abundant life, begins right here and now. He wants us to live a rich, full, joyful life, one overflowing with meaningful activities, in fellowship with his people, all the while having His personal favor upon us. What a satisfying life when we are living in the abundance. The abundance of His grace, mercy and love. God even encourages us in Ecclesiastes (3:12-13,7:14) to enjoy our food, drink, and work as a gift from God. When I am in my element/ nature, near the water, under the sun along with a few puffy clouds in the sky, gentle wind blowing through the trees, I feel so close to God. I can sense His presence everywhere, if you could see inside of me, my heart would be one BIG smile. There is just something about being in His presence that makes life good and brings a purposeful feeling to me. Even though as you can well see I’m not even doing anything purposeful, I’m laying on a rock. Oh my gosh! Revelation …He is the ROCK! Whenever I am leaning on Him; the Rock, that is where my peaceful easy feeling comes from. When I am sitting here typing God is speaking to me the entire time. If you know the Father intimately, you will understand what I’m saying, if not it may sound a little crazy to you, but I am being as real and honest as I can be. I’m not relying on materialist things to find my contentment instead I’m just resting in Him, now back to being in my element/nature. I begin thinking things like God created all of this for me. He created the sound of the water flowing downstream over the rocks just for me to hear. The clouds that I’m laying there watching move through the sky and using my imagination seeing a bear, or a rabbit, or whatever it may be, is all for me. In the silence of stillness, He reminds me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves me, and cares for me and blesses me more than I can even receive. My cup truly runneth over. I’m living in abundance. I don’t want to sound ungrateful when I say, “I don’t have these same feelings in other places like I do here.” I think maybe it could be the mountains, yes I live in the mountains and the water and wildlife, and all the beauty around me keeps me in a sense of awe reminding me of our Creator’s limitless power, His creativity, He is an artist! I admire the work of an artist. I love photography and I know a woman that is an amazing photographer, I am in absolute awe of her work. But that does not even compare to God’s artistry. He created such a peaceful space for me to feel His presence, away from everywhere else. ABUNDANCE! To Him Be ALL the glory!
“He was wounded for our transgression, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Some wounds bleed longer than others. Some heal overnight, but I have found in my life, many take time and simply covering them up with whatever your band-aid may look like NEVER works. Back in the day my band-aid was “self-medicating,” some days that looked like drinking alcohol, just to relax you know; that’s what I would say to whomever might be watching. Some days it was a little bigger band-aid, a drug of choice, just so I didn’t have to feel the pain, again that was my coping mechanism. Coping is not a form of healing, nor are band-aids. Bandages are used only to stop the immediate bleeding while confronting the cause of the injury and finding the appropriate prescription, the one that actually brings healing. I’m definitely not suggesting or promoting that you use alcohol or drugs or any other thing to stop the bleeding. I only shared that as an example of what I did before I knew how to stop the bleeding and receive my healing in the correct way. Unfortunately I see people everyday doing just what I did and it is heartbreaking. I still bleed at times when I’ve been wounded, but now I address the wound differently. I take it to the “Lord Who Heals,” He can and will heal both my body and soul and He does it through compassion and authority, not by the other things I mentioned above. Wounds can be physical, spiritual, and emotional and Jesus can heal everyone of them if we will go to Him with faith believing that He can and will, if we will receive our healing. Faith says, yes He can; belief is receiving what He will do. Jesus is the healer of both the physical body and the “sin-sick soul,” offering us peace, comfort and forgiveness. Your bloody mess may be caused from sin, and you need forgiveness. Are you bleeding out to the point that others are wearing it to? I try to be transparent in my writings, in my past I was the person that bled all over innocent people. I let the bleeding go for so long that everyone around me had to feel my injury. And you know what? I found out in several different occasions that sin was holding me back. Sometimes it was the kind of sin like we all know; doing the wrong thing, but more times than not it was the sin of guilt, shame and unforgiveness. I needed a savior, I needed a real physician, I needed HEALED! As most of us dealing with any kind of hurt or injury we find that rarely is there complete restoration, just temporary relief, Jesus offers us complete restoration; wholeness. His atonement on the cross covered both the forgiveness of our sins and healing in our body. Doctors are part of God’s plan for our healing just as direct intervention in response to our faith, so I am not saying that we stop seeing doctors and only believe by faith for our healing. We must use wisdom to know if what we need requires immediate assistance or can we call out directly to God for our healing. Even when seeing doctors of all kind; physical, mental even spiritual advice, always pray to the One who directs the steps of the hands you are putting your life in. For their gifts and talents were given by God to begin with, He is working through them. Jesus is considered the ultimate healer, operating above and through the skills of earthly doctors. I’m not a doctor, I’m not Jesus, I’m not a Preacher, I am a believer. I talk to God about EVERYTHING, He is my Healer, my Savior, my confidant, I share my deepest, most intimate problems with Him. I know He is trustworthy, for He is not man that he should lie, He is always listening, always present with me, I am safe with Him, He doesn’t share my private information with anyone. And He doesn’t mind cleaning up my bloody mess, matter of fact, that’s just what He does.
Lord God, my Father, my Savior, my Healer, my Comforter in times of pain and suffering. I pray that whoever is reading this, whatever the pain or suffering is they are going through, that you Lord would meet them right here, right now, let them feel your Holy Presence through this prayer. I ask in the name of Jesus the Christ that you would remove all sickness; mental, physical, spiritual and emotional from them. Restore them completely, bring hope and comfort to them knowing that You are who You say you are. You are the Great Physician. If there be any unrepented sin in them I ask they bring it before you right now. Cleanse them from all unrighteousness. Cause the bleeding to end, and the healing to begin. It’s in Your Name, I ask all these things, Amen.
You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn him the other also. And if anyone sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. (Matt. 5:38-40)
Tough hide and a tender heart. True love is an essential component of thick skin. God guards our hearts and gives us the power to forgive those that have wronged us. I’ll just let you in on a little secret, it is going to take Jesus residing in your heart to be able to do this. This is a supernatural kind of love that comes from Him. It is our greatest defense against feeling overwhelmed when being criticised or having someone attack us personally. We need thick skin to not hold a grudge or try to retaliate. “Jesus said love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44) You are developing thick skin and a soft heart all at the same time when you pray like that. Prayer doesn’t just change the situation, it changes us. I have prayed for people for long periods of time, years even, not feeling like it …sorry, but true. But then one day God replaced the grudge, animosity, with compassion. Regarding prayer; just keep doing it, the weaker our prayer life, the thinner our skin, and the harder our heart. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41). Prayer will change the attitude of you heart if you don’t give up. I also am not saying that this anger will not creep back in at times, that’s why we have to learn to master this thing called prayer, temptations to fall back in our old ways are always there. Learn to leave a closed door closed. Here is a little prayer you can pray for yourself to help you walk with a spirit of humility and compassion.
Lord Jesus ….Forgive my hardness of heart and my selfishness. I am weak, but you are strong. Strengthen and protect me from my natural ways of responding to situations. Teach me how to walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh. Grant me your peace, wisdom, love and compassion. Wash away my sins with the blood you shed for me by the Holy Spirit, make me more like Jesus every day. Please give me thick skin and a soft heart, especially when my natural impulses flare up under pressure. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Ps. 139:13-14)
It’s a beautiful day. I woke up well rested, fresh coffee, a smile and a kiss from my husband and a message of breakthrough on my phone from years spent praying for someone. This someone has had my whole heart all of their life, I am overflowing in joy today! Breakthroughs are something to be celebrated. If you have ever found yourself bound up inside your soul by something for so long to the point you begin to see yourself as that person instead of the person you actually were created to be, and then a “suddenly” happens and your FREE, it is time to celebrate! The world puts all these ideas out there like; what we should weigh, wear, speak, act, that there is a certain look we should have. When the truth is we have been intricately created by God, that’s where our confidence should lie. It took strength and a whole lot of courage for this person to be able to step out with that kind of confidence today. As for myself I believe until we are able to see ourselves as someone loved by God, who makes NO mistakes by the way, we will not have the confidence to be comfortable in our own skin. God advises us to put our trust in the Lord rather than man (Ps. 118:8). I believe today for the first time this person saw themself as the good work that the Lord had begun and now has the confidence to believe that God, the One that said, “I will also complete that good work as promised.” When God starts something, He finishes it. Also, know this is; “You can do all things through him who strengthens you-that’s divine strength.” God never intended for you to do anything alone, He is there to be your ever-present help. God gives a spirit of power, love and self-discipline, not fear. So, stop fearing what others think and be who you were created to be. Be You. Celebrate You.
Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. (Proverbs 23:20-21)
Obviously this is not one of those feel good post, but think about it from a parents point of view. When you are teaching your children the right and good things of life, things that are going to bring about blessings and not harm to them, they usually are not the feel good talks. As adults we to need to remind ourselves of things that will potentially bring harm to us and veer away from it. When I saw this picture, there were so many things that came to mind. First let’s just think for a minute about the scripture under the picture, what that means. Eating and drinking to excess will impoverish people, to much food is gluttony, too much drink leads to intoxication. There is absolutely no self-control, just living in the moment. I have never had the overeating problem, but I certainly spent a minute in the overindulging times of drunkenness. For those of you reading my blog for the first time let me just tell you real quick, “I am not that perfect Christian,” “I am the one that knows, I am in need of a savior.” If you read some of my others I give a bit more insight into my life of; a sinner saved by grace. And you will also find out that I need Him just as much today as I did when I was lost. Back to overindulging. Like I mentioned in the beginning there is many things that comes to mind regarding this subject. Greed, comfort, pleasure, entertainment that controls us, rather than us controlling it. These are fleeting and harmful passions, there is nothing lasting. I recently got caught up on a T.V. series that really sucked me in, all along knowing and even telling myself this ain’t right, this is pretty raunchy the way they were talking and portraying themselves, I was even getting angry at a couple of the characters because of the character they were playing, yet I kept watching it. After the last episode and before the next series started the Lord began to deal with me about that. Needless to say, I never watched another episode of it. You might be saying about now, “well everything on television is like that.” No it’s not. What you lust after is what you will seek after. We need to have some self control and stop letting things control us. Temptation is a real thing, but we don’t have to give into it, that’s what leads us to sin. That scripture above says, if we give in, it will lead us to poverty, sloth, and moral decay. Yeah! Been there. So let me just try to lead you in another direction here. “If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,lest you have your fill of it and vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16). Unlike the worldly things that leave you feeling sick or empty, nourish yourself with God’s Word. Get you some “living water” (John 4:14). Check out the differences between the two: Worldly overindulgence: focuses on temporary, self-serving things which then leads to bondage and decay. The Bible says: moderation in worldly things-use them as if not dependent on them, instead immerse yourself in godly things that will lead you to peace and spiritual life. Life is full of choices and we get to decide, choose wisely.
The Bible describes a good friend as loyal, loving, sacrificial, and honest, even closer than a brother. True friendship will support one another through difficult times, sharpening each other’s character, reflecting the selfless love shown by Jesus and by being honest. Isn’t it great to have a friend or multiple friends that are so close that you can speak truth about yourself and not be judged? I like to think of myself as the friend in the Bible who is; iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). Trying to offer up some constructive advice, helping to carry their burdens through the difficult times. I’ve never been asked to lay my life down for one of my friends, but I have been asked to stop what I’m doing and help a friend in need. Put my tasks, appointments, agenda aside and come to the rescue. Sometimes a friend just needs a little encouragement from someone they can trust. I have a couple friends like that. I call them my ride or die friends. They have been the ones that have come to my rescue when no one else could or would have. They are the ones that picked me up off the ground and dusted me off when the winds of life threw dirt at me. They are the ones when I couldn’t think clearly because all hope and vision had left me. They prayed with me, shared the promises of God with me, reminded me that this very moment that I was in would one day pass and I would be okay. They are the ones that I can cry, cuss and discuss anything with and the whole while they are reminding me of who I am and who I belong to, allowing me to not be perfect, but human. I am a sinner saved by grace, I bleed just like everyone else, but my friends are the ones that put the band-aide on me, while Jesus heals my wounds and allows me to wear these scars proudly to show of His amazing grace and mercy, He truly is the best friend anyone could ever have. Jesus is such a good friend, that he blessed me with earthly friends to be that constant reminder in my life who He is. I told you, I’m that person that will always tell you exactly what I think.
“You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14)
The Lord has been pouring oil in my lamp in preparation for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in others. I am being very intentional about having my lamp full of oil, so that the lamp will give light to everyone that comes near me. I spend a lot of time around people who are living in darkness, it is a scary, hopeless, desperate & desolate place to be. As a child I was extremely scared of the dark. I never wanted to be alone when it became dark and even in the daylight there were times I could just sense the darkness. I don’t have to fear the dark now because there is a light that burns continuously inside of me. Now that I have this light I’m gonna let it shine, shine for others to be able to see. My goal is to help others light their wick right off of mine. Sharing is caring, right? I want to share the good news of living in the light. I want to see the people blessed and living in their blessings. Have you ever had a gift for someone and you were just so excited about giving it to them because you knew it was just what they needed and you could hardly hold back? That’s how I feel about my light; Jesus. When they see me, or hear me talk, or watch me emulate Jesus I want to be able to hear them say, “Hey that light your wearing is so bright, I couldn’t see anything but the light, why is that? Where can I get a lamp like that? Be prepared to light the fire in their soul. They have been in the dark so long that they can barely see the light flickering at times when it passes by. The naked eye can detect light approximately 1.6 miles away. Yet there are things that can cloud that vision such as haze & air pollution. When people are going through things such as job loss, living on the street, addictions of any kind, relationships that are beyond repair, bad experiences even in the church, so many things I can’t possibly list them all. Everyone has their own story. Their vision gets clouded, blurred, in some cases close to blindness. It’s important that we who hold the candle make sure our wick is lit, our lamp is full of oil and ready to let our light dispel darkness. Scriptures calls us believers the “light of the world,” and urges us to shine as lights in the world of a crooked and twisted generation. All of this for the sole purpose to give glory to our Father in heaven. For at one time we were in darkness, but now we are the light in the Lord, so we should walk as children of light. So Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” (Is. 60:1)
Bread and Water 